Think you got an ugly past? Well almost everyone has!

Romans 8:1,”There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

I am a hymns’ girl and most of the time find myself reflecting on the rich lyrics in these old school composition. One such I have been pondering was ‘And Can it be that I Should Gain’ Hymn.

“No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness Divine,
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.”

Well, you have no idea how reassuring that composition is especially if you know that you might be having a past that you look at and the only word you think of is Grace. It is a profound reminder that the past does not determine the future but rather prepares us for the future.

A lovely lady shared this with me after our groupie accountability fellowship. Thought I should encourage someone

“I feel so bad, I have failed God, and I have failed myself. I have failed my future husband and I just want to die like now,”(Let’s call her Purity) she says.

“Hey, hey heey, come on slow before you crucify yourself and the judge is yet to make His verdict,” I interject in a light manner.

“I am serious, ”she adds.” I fell and I feel dirty, used and the greatest sinner. I hate myself. I feel horrible.” By then she was in tears and couldn’t even look me in the eye. I looked at that girlie, my peer and I felt bad at the level of self-condemnation that she carried on her head! We talked for long, I encouraged her on that huge stone we sat on at the basketball court. We cried together. I held her hand and we prayed. The mistake had been done, and we both agreed it was wrong. But what next after the milk has been poured? And the unlikely candidate has licked a honeycomb that is not theirs?

That evening on a pale city sundown, we talked about the stories of unlikely women who were in the every aspect limited by their past lives. We talked about Tamar, a woman who was a victim of sexual abuse, and a schemy woman too who ended up deceiving his father in law into siring him children; Of Rahab, a prostitute lady who turns good and helps Joshua and his team. She ends up giving birth to Boaz, who begats Obed, and Jesse who is the root of David the King where Christ is lineage is established. We talk about the past of these women and the latter days and how grace turns their lives around.

We talk about grace, and I assure her that if we confess our sins, He forgives; that there is no condemnation for her, and she has to forgive herself as the Lord has.

A gradual process it was but eventually it happened. She has become an encouragement and the best accountability I could ask for. Asking me hard questions and demanding answers in a bold but loving ways. Today she is a strong, healed and an instrumental lady in my life. She taught me to extend grace as I am a recipient of the same. Today, young as she is, her story now encourages many more…

There is no condemnation. We all have a past that grace has set us free from. Are you feeling that you have such an ugly past? Well, Rahab had, so did Tamar and so does every other person you look around and see as if they have it all figured out.

Let your past serve to prepare you for the greater future.

#Amazinggrace

#NocondemnationtothemthatareinChristJesus